Thoughtful Problem #4 - Wikibook Thinking and Planning

So far we've discussed technology budgeting, funding and purchasing. What are the most important things you want to convey to future technology directors? What was hardest for you to understand? Maybe that will be hardest to make clear to a reader. What should be covered in depth and what should not be covered in depth? What knowledge would most help you in a Technology Director position? Discuss these questions in three-to-five paragraphs

The most important things I want to convey to future technology directors that Tech director is the responsible person and tech director has to be aware of new technology for education as well as how to implement new technology in school, how to suit that technology in the school curriculum. He or she has to take a leadership for budgeting, purchasing, maintaining and evaluating technology for his or her school. He or she has to work collaboratively with other staffs of the school and school district, so in order to be successful, he or she must have good interpersonal skill and communication skill.

Budgeting and grant writing was the hardest part for me to understand. Coding structure is complicated and pursuing it to business personnel seems to me a hard part. Particularly grant writing is very tough job for tech coordinator for school. Successful grant writing must require motivating writing skill to fit for competitive grants. In addition, good interpersonal and management skill as well as connection with the grant agency are required to obtain money for school.

Future technology coordinator must keep in mind that the goal of their job is to fulfill the student centered learning. They should keep in mind that Education is not a business. In my view, in terms of purchasing, how to cope with vendors and handle bidding should be illustrated in more detail.

Thoughtful Problem #3

Think of a project for a real or imaginary school. Use the Grantwriting exercise sheet to help you plan a grant to fund your project.
1. Describe the project, its purpose, its intended participants and its expected goals/objectives
2. Explain the division of funding sources you would like among budget, e-rate and grants
3. Find a suitable grant agency and describe why that agency would be interested in funding your project.

My project will be 'Community Atlas Project' in which middle school students will produce a community profile, an electronic project containing maps and information showing important aspects of the community with the help of Geographic Information system (GIS) software. The middle school students will need to explore the data and discover patterns and characteristics of their neighborhoods. They will need to build their spatial and analytical skills. They will need to develop the process of geographic thinking. Those are – think about a place, ask a question about it, gather information, explore the patterns, analyze the data and act on the analysis. This process goes around the circle.
Goals- The middle school students will have proficiency using GIS software and will develop spatial thinking and critical thinking capability as well as an awareness of their community.
Objectives: Through the US community Atlas project teachers and students define the nature of their community, post description and maps about it. These presentations are combined in the web server, can be served by characteristic and explored for similarities and differences.
The division of funding sources: A part of funding comes from school budget, like GIS training for the teachers. Licensing and cost for GIS software comes from ESRI (Environmental System Research Institute) grant funding and the cost of networking service comes from E-rate funding.
ESRI grant agency will provide funding for this project. ESRI announces the grant option for the ESRI GIS grant program to support geospatial outreach, education and community involvement efforts. The goal of the program is to foster and support the integration of the geographic information system.

TP#1

In today’s society, technology is the part and parcel in every aspect of our lives. Obviously I am interested to know all the technology related work, particularly web design and development. Whatever design comes in my mind and what thoughts come to my mind regarding educational aspect I can express and show to the world. The key thought of Instructional technology is the engaged learning. In order to success in life, learner should be engaged in learning and it is the technology what makes this happen. Therefore, as I believe in constructivism, being a teacher, I would like to apply this in my classroom.

In today’s society, every educational institution needs technological expertise. Being a media or technology specialist, I will help my organization to develop an educational website for my institution and create movies, podcasts, etc, I will be happy to do that. Being interested in designing, capturing real life educational documents as well as being able to work cooperatively and collaboratively, media or technology specialist position in a school is best suited for me.
The biggest challenge in such a position will be that I have to always keep myself updated in terms of technology as well as I have to be fluent in technology. I have to be aware of the current scenario of the school in terms of financial, political, educational curriculum and social situation.

On the other hand, I would like to be a social studies teacher in a school, as I am interested in Geographical information system and I would like to apply this in my classroom. I would also like to create stand alone interactive instructional strategies for the kids.
The biggest challenge in such a position in terms of my interest will not be always fulfill, because this software is costly, some school can not afford it. Equity issue will also arise regarding students’ Internet access.